BOSTON – Chris Weidman isn’t overlooking Dominick Reyes, but he’s certainly considering what’s on the horizon with a victory Friday night.
At a pre-fight media day held Tuesday at Peter Welch’s Gym, Weidman said if he beats Reyes at UFC on ESPN 6, he believes he’ll be next in line for a title shot against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“I think so, because of what I accomplished in the past and coming in against a guy who’s undefeated ranked fourth in the world in that weight class,” Weidman said when asked about a prospective title fight after Friday’s card. “If I go out there and do what I believe I can do, I don’t think you can really deny it. Especially because Jon Jones has faced most of the top guys and beat most of the top guys. Why not?”
A former UFC middleweight champ, Weidman (14-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has long been tied to his fellow New York native Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC). The two fighters reigned as champions in their respective divisions simultaneously from 2013-2015.
A superfight between the two came up in many theoretical discussions amongst followers of the sport. Weidman wishes it had come to fruition when he was champion, but having lost the belt doesn’t deter his confidence in the matchup.
“I always believed I had the ability to beat him,” Weidman said. “I always imagined defending my belt until I decided to stop, and then going up and beating him, too. Obviously, it didn’t work out as planned for me. This new plan works out just fine. He definitely looks very beatable after watching his last two fights against two 185 pounders.”
The current status of today’s hyped-up superfights revolves around ongoing trash talk between Jones and the man who owns the title Weidman once held, middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.
Despite Adesanya’s recent social media beef with Jones, “The All American” beating Reyes will make the Nigerian’s efforts all for not.
“I think Israel Adesanya did a great job in his last fight,” Weidman said. “I think he’s trying to bait him into coming up and taking a big fight because Adesanya became a big star. I think it’s a big fight for Jon Jones. I think he’s just trying to egg him on, but I’m going to ruin all of that.”
Weidman is confident in a matchup against Jones – but why? From a technical standpoint, Weidman believes wrestling is the X-factor.
“I think the wrestling is really the key for him,” Weidman said. “If you’re a striker, he’s going to look for a way to bait you into him taking you down. Then you have trouble on your back. I think a wrestler with jiu-jitsu is a problem for him.
“Cormier had the wrestling. Not as much jiu-jitsu, but he had good positioning on top and stuff. He’s way shorter, and that reach disadvantage is huge. With me, it’s not as bad. I have better footwork and stuff. I can move in and out and kind of trick to the legs a little easier.”
Chris Weidman plans to ruin Israel Adesanya's chance of fighting Jon Jones with UFC on ESPN 6 win
